Potatoes, sea cows, or both?

That friendly face
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I wasn’t explicitly looking for potatoes that sorta looked like manatees, but I’m not disappointed that that’s what I seemingly found on an otherwise uneventful visit to the fresh produce section.

Now, does the world actually NEED a photo of a potato that looks like a beloved sea cow? Up until I shot just such a photo, my answer likely would have been a resounding no.

But here’s the thing: I think we could always use a little more whimsy in our lives. And based on my cursory assessment of the current state of the planet, that collective need for whimsy is more urgent than it’s been in a while.

Besides, the very word, whimsy, just sounds so lovely. Say it with me: whimsy.

See?

Whatever you have on the go for today, I hope it includes something weird, whimsical, or both. I hope it makes you smile precisely because of its seeming insignificance.

Because whimsy is never truly insignificant. And manatees and manatee-like tuberous vegetables are always worth a second look.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #grocery #store #sobeys #shopping #retail #potatoes #vegetables #stilllife #photography #fruitography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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CN Tower under a stormy sky

Standing tall
Toronto, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Never stop reaching for the sky.

Even if it’s a little stormy.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yyz #cntower #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #urban #downtown #city #skyline #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Bowled over

Reflectively awaiting their fate
Toronto, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Lots of lessons to be learned in this scene:

• We’re stronger when we stand together, even if it seems as if the world is always trying to knock us down.
• We’re capable of reflecting as much light as we receive. Maybe even more.
• The more games we play the more scarred we become. But that’s what makes us unique. And lovelier.
• Someone’s got to lead, but we all play crucial roles and positions.
• Even when we fall, we get back up.

I’m sure there are more, but it’s time to throw the ball and see where it ends up. Some things we can control; others we can’t.

#toronto #ontario #canada #bowling #bowlinglife #bowlingpins #reflective #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Live, the Universe, and Everything, November 2010

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Shadows on a sidewalk

Absence of light
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Canada awakens this morning to a new political chapter, and depending on who you speak to it’s either cause for celebration or an excuse to start day-drinking.

But if we’re being brutally honest, I’m tired of it all. The meanness, the lying, the prioritzation of me over we. So I hope no one minds if I take a bit of a photographic detour, to a moment on Sunday afternoon when the shadows of overgrown grasses caught my attention as I walked beside the river with our dog.

As context, I’m always looking down when we walk together, because Schnauzers have this terrible habit of eating everything in sight. More than once we’ve arrived at home with Calli the Wonderschnauzer hiding a large chunk of rotisserie chicken in her mouth, and we’ll politely avoid discussing the other, um, stuff that she’s ingested along the way.

So as I’m policing my dog’s snout, I’m also taking in the random craziness that urban/suburban life leaves by the side of the road. Inevitably, photos are taken.

This particular pic strikes me as a perfect counter to the overwhelming influence of our current political snowglobe, where waves of breaking headlines turn into fuel for celebration for some, and limitless despair for others, depending on which colour sign you had on your lawn.

In contrast, these grassy shadows are hardly influential. In fact, nobody notices them unless they’re looking straight down. They aren’t even real: just reflected light blowing in a stiff breeze on a sunny late afternoon. Soon enough a lawnmower will eliminate the grasses behind the shadows, and no one will remember they were ever here.

I’m guessing those screaming headlines are strictly temporary, too. Nothing lasts forever. Perhaps this is as it should be.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #cdnpoli #election2025 #medway #shadow #grass #stilllife #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone #photography

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Elections Canada and the disappearing website

I’m staggered to see Elections Canada struggling to keep its website up and running ON ELECTION DAY.

Feels like a failure to capacity-plan, and Canadians deserve to know why this was allowed to happen.

https://elections.ca

#Election2025 #canada #electionscanada

UPDATE 9:28 p.m. Eastern:

Elections Canada is sharing an updated URL that they’ve set up to handle overflow traffic from the main site. It’s loading for me, though YMMV:

https://enr.elections.ca/National.aspx?lang=e

Canada decides

Walk this way for democracy
London, ON
October 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Canada votes today. At least we’re supposed to.

The sad reality is only 62.6% of eligible voters bothered to cast a vote in the last federal election, in 2021, according to Elections Canada. I’m rather certain that there’s significant overlap between the 37.4% who stayed home and folks who whine the loudest on social media.

So here’s the deal: please vote.

See what I did there? I said please, like a good Canadian.

This could very well be the most pivotal election in our country’s history. We face an existential threat to our future thanks to our neighbours to the south, and nothing short of all-hands participation in the process will ensure we have what it takes to push back against the orange-make-upped menace and assert our national sovereignty.

Even more significantly, countless Canadians fought and died for our right to vote. We tarnish their sacrifice by not doing our part.

If you’re a non-voter, please don’t try to excuse it away. It takes just as much time to come up with an excuse as it does to mark a ballot. Please don’t complain about long lines and paper-based election processes. If that’s your greatest hardship on a Monday, then you’re doing better than most.

Please also refrain from complaining about the candidates, the parties, the broken system, the whatever. The system isn’t broken. Canada isn’t a failed nation. A little adversity does not give us all a free pass to avoid being part of - and ensuring the continued health of - our democracy.

Engage. That’s it. Be a part of the process. Vote for whoever moves you: the only wrong decision is to not be a part of the process in the first place.

If you still, against all logic and empathy for your country and your fellow citizens, decide to stay away from the polls today, your silence for the remainder of the new government’s mandate clears the decks for those of us who took the time and made the effort.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #throwback #election #cdnpoli #vote #elxn #canadavotes #google #pixel #teampixel

Related:

Guerilla election photography, April 2025

Ontario votes. So do we. February 2025

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Getting ready for Election Day in Canada, October 2015

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Wanted: 2 new mayors, October 2013

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Broken tree, broken world

Life goes on, differently
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’d be forgiven for thinking the world is a little broken today.

Or maybe it’s a lot. Hard to tell sometimes.

So please forgive me for sharing this rather desolate image of a rather desolate tree, of something that once magnificently reached for the sky but is now reduced to shattered splinters grazing the earth.

Perhaps the optimists among us see this as the start of something new, the fuel for future renewal as new life takes root among the deconstructed remnants of the old.

But I’m not an optimist. Not today, anyway.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #lapulapu #tvp #rosspark #tree #landscapephotography #naturephotography #texture #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Trains to nowhere

Ribbons of steel
Toronto, ON
July 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’re all on some kind of journey.

Sometimes the path is clear.

Sometimes not.

#toronto #ontario #canada #throwback #gotrain #metrolinx #upexpress #steel #train #track #perspective #downtown #travel #photography #canon #canonphotography #canon_photography

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Hudson's Bay fades to black

Almost gone
Toronto, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Nothing lasts forever, not even controversial icons of a shared history that predates the country.

Not everyone remembers The Hudson’s Bay Company in the same way. For every fuzzy mental image of multistripe point blankets and pilgrimages to see Christmas window displays in giant downtown stores, there are mirrors that reflect a different reality. Of abuses of Indigenous communities at the hands of colonial oppressors.

And yet, the impending implosion of the 355-year-old retailer represents another inflection point in Canadian history.

Books will be written about how The Bay ended up here, how generations of retail leadership ebbed away in the face of shifting demographics and technologies, about how its final chapter under private equity ownership echoed the trajectory of so many other companies who were strip-mined for the benefit of short-term-focused investors. So I certainly won’t try to document it all here.

But late on a Saturday night, I walked out of one of the largest malls in Canada and felt compelled to stop and take in the logo, likely for the last time.

This was a force that dominated Canadian life for as long as any of us can remember, and its disappearance marks another milestone on a path toward an uncertain future where icons are ever more difficult to find in the night sky.

#toronto #ontario #canada #yorkdale #hudsonsbay #thebay #retail #building #architecture #architecturephotography #buildingporn #architectureporn #night #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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Talking about ChatGPT and politeness on the CBC

If you say "thank you" every time you ask #ChatGPT a question, you might want to stop being so polite. It's costing Big Tech - and the planet - dearly.

I'll explain in conversation with CBC Radio stations across Canada from 5:30 to 9 a.m. Friday. Hope you can tune in!

#AI #sustainability

Where birds dance in the sky

May you never fly alone
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dance with me across the skies, for as long as the fading light allows.

Know you will never be alone.

And I will follow you to the ends of the Earth.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hydepark #tikkunolam #sunset #orange #cloudspotting #birds #birdsofinstagram #silhouette #weather #wx #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Where the cold waters run fast

Not safe for swimming
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

After the snows have melted and the rains have fallen, the river moves high and fast, reminding us all where the power truly lies.

So I stand on the bank and close my eyes. The noise is almost overwhelming, but so is the rushing air, the waves creating their own turbulence as they whip underneath the overhanging branches and out of sight.

I plant my feet in the damp earth below, careful to avoid taking an unintentional swim. A nearby tree offers up a comforting place to brace myself securely against the chaos as I set up the camera.

It takes 1/6th of a second to capture this image, blurred pixels crafting a reality that not even my eyes can see for themselves. I imagine the waters will soon recede, and by summer this very spot will be barely a trickle.

As I pack up the camera and head back to the real world, I quietly remind myself that not all storms last forever.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #thamesriver #water #abstract #blur #longexposure #monochrome #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Lessons from a resting bird

Look the other way
London, ON
March 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I call this one quiet reflection, and every time I come back to it, I remind myself to be more like this.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #springbank #bird #duck #flight #driftwood #reflective #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Walk, reflect, repeat

Life returns to the valley
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The puppy and I spent a couple of hours yesterday walking far from home.

With the planet seemingly boiling over with conflict and unkindness, it felt like the right time to unplug for a while.

So while she sniffed endless patches of grass and gnarly tree roots, I stood at the other end of her leash and alternated between listening to the winds whisper through the trees and watching returning birds dance in the perfectly blue sky.

At one point we stopped beside the river and just stood there in the warm breeze. For reasons known only to Calli, she didn’t sniff any grass or roots. She simply stared at the same stretch as I was, and I smiled at the notion of the both of us enjoying the same moment.

So here’s what we were looking at.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #medwayvalley #forest #thamesriver #green #reflective #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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The fastest dog ever

Feel the wind, Fido!
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Dog is my co-pilot.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tvp #rosspark #ebike #actofdog #dogsofinstagram #streetphotography #naturephotography #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Guerilla election photography

Such polite rule-followers, we are
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

It’s election time in the Great White North, with Canadians headed to the polls April 28th in what is likely the most significant federal election in our country’s history.

With advance polls conveniently opening on Friday, we thought it would be fun to cast our ballots early.

We weren’t alone, as long lines snaked through and out of the polling station in our neighbourhood. And while some grumbled, my wife and I thought it was heartening to see such a strong turnout. Besides, spontaneous dates can happen anywhere.

Didn’t stop me from engaging in some guerilla photography as we approached the front of the line. I’m guessing any kind of photography or videography is a no-no, but voting makes me feel like a bit of a badass, and I wanted to remember what that singular moment in collective democracy felt like.

Besides, the yellow tape with the Elections Canada logo was fetching. And it had been a while since I had last shot a shoe selfie.

And now that I’ve scratched my X on a ballot, I have renewed my inalienable right to whine incessantly about our country’s politics and politicians. That’s how it works, isn’t it?

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #election #cdnpoli #vote #elxn #canadavotes #family #everything #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:

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Vote early. Vote often. But vote. May 2011

Dodge, not DOGE

Workhorse
London, ON
June 2024
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Welcome to old parked cars, old van edition.

The light was terrible.

I was running late.

I was hesitant to shoot toward someone’s driveway, as I imagine I wouldn’t want some stranger wandering past my house and doing the same thing.

So I moved further away, zoomed in, shot fast, and continued on my merry way.

This beloved Dodge van disappeared soon after I took this. I haven’t seen it since.

Sometimes we’re given just one opportunity to make a memory.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #dodge #van #car #carporn #automotive #oldparkedcars #opc #streetphotography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Look in the trunk

All texture, all the time
London, ON
October 2017
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The one where we bark up the right tree.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #thamesvalley #tvp #forest #tree #naturephotography #landscapephotography #stilllife #texture #monochrome #photography #nikon #nikonphotography #nikon_photography

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Kid coconut

Recipe for a sweet life
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Not just any macaroons. Debbie’s macaroons. Made with love. Sent home with the kids in care packages. Signatures of our little family.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #TikkunOlam #Passover #macaroons #kitchen #dessert #stilllife #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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One last time before nightfall

Whisper goodnight to me
London, ON
April 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Wispy clouds paint the orange skies one last time before the light fades away entirely.

Meanwhile the city buzzes below, its people rushing to get it all done before nightfall.

It’s a dance as old as time itself, played to music more felt than heard.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #hydepark #tikkunolam #sunset #orange #cloudspotting #weather #wx #naturephotography #landscapephotography #photography #apple #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

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